Appoint Misbah as captain for World Cup: Salman Butt

KARACHI: Pakistan's tainted former skipper Salman Butt has called on the cricket board (PCB) to appoint senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq as captain for the World Cup to be held in the sub-continent next month. 

Butt, who along with pace bowlers Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamer, will have to wait till February 5th to learn his fate in the spot-fixing row, also described flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi as a "clueless" captain. 

"This is more or less the same team that plays in Tests and one-day matches. But when they played recently in the Tests they looked like a different side and when they are playing 50-overs cricket it appears as if they don't know what direction to take," Butt told the News One channel. 

"Misbah is the ideal man to lead Pakistan in the World Cup. He is a born captain and an ideal leader. The best part about him is that he is composed and leads by example," said Butt. 

Butt, who was suspended last September by the ICC while he was captain of the Test team in England, only added fuel to the ongoing debate over the World Cup captaincy with the PCB yet to announce the leader for the quadrennial event to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. 

With Pakistan whipped badly in the first ODI in New Zealand and Misbah standing out with a half century, the calls for him to be made captain are only growing louder day by day. 

"I think the present one-day team is stronger then the Test side. When you look at the few changes there are senior players coming into the ODI squad who have been playing international cricket for last 15 years. 

"But I think because of poor planning and weak captaincy the ODI side is struggling," the former skipper added. 

Referring to the defeat in the first ODI at Wellington, Butt put the blame on poor planning and weak leadership. 

"If you have a player (Afridi) who is clueless then how can he lead the team because even if he says something to the other players no one is listening to him," Butt said
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WAQAR YOUNIS WANTS SHAHID AFRIDI AS CAPTAIN

The role of a captain in cricket is the most important compared to any sport in the world. This is why captaining a side in cricket is not the easiest thing to do. Pakistan has named the World Cup squad which will kick-off from 19^th February, however, the name of the captain is still missing and this delay has raised many eyebrows.

Amongst many former players and cricket experts, who have criticized the move by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the head-coach of the Pakistani team Waqar Younis was also not pleased with the board’s decision.

Waqar, who is with the team in New Zealand stated that the delay will only create issues for the team and it will not help the team’s preparations for the World Cup. Waqar also backed Shahid Afridi to lead the team in the Mega Event as Afridi has been the captain of the team for almost 1 year.

PCB wasn’t pleased with the statement of Waqar and issued a show-cause notice to the Pakistan coach.

Sources close to the PCB have revealed that Waqar has been backing Afridi to lead the team as he was more comfortable with Afridi. However, PCB wanted to warn Afridi that he would only be appointed as the captain if he performs both as a player and captain of the team.

The ongoing ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand was also considered as a test for Afridi as he hasn’t been able to deliver for his team. The flamboyant all-rounder has led the team in nine ODI and Twenty20 internationals since he was appointed captain in 2010.

However, he hasn’t been able to inspire his team as the team lost seven of those series and won just two Twenty20 series. Afridi also led the team in a Test match against Australia which ended as a defeat for his team.

Afridi retired from test cricket after that loss and Pakistan had a new test captain in Salman Butt. Although Butt led his team to a victory in his very first match as the captain, he was alleged for spot-fixing and has been suspended along with Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif since the series in Engalnd.

On the other hand, the test captain of Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq has been in extraordinary form and has led the team well in the longest version of the game. He has led the team in four matches and didn’t lose a single match.

The team drew both the test matches against South Africa in UAE and went onto win the series against New Zealand by a 1-0 margin.

Misbah was appointed as the deputy to Afridi for the ODI series and he is also a likely candidate for the World Cup captaincy. He has been in great form in the test matches and carried his form in the ODIs as he scored a half century in the first ODI of the series.

PCB is expected to announce the captain for the mega event after the fourth ODI and the chairman of the cricket board Ijaz Butt has left for New Zealand to assess the performance of the players.

Butt will also have a meeting with Waqar over his statement on a sensitive issue as everyone was aware that it was completely up-to the board to announce the captain of the team.

All the other teams have announced their captains and the 15-member squad for the World Cup. Pakistan is the only team which is not sure of their leader for the mega event.

Although there are some performance issues with Afridi, but a change at this stage may not be a good move for the team. The team had a troublesome 2010 and will be looking to do well in the World Cup.

Waqar`s support for Afridi rubs PCB the wrong way

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been under constant pressure from national coach Waqar Younis to retain Shahid Afridi as captain for the World Cup, which is starting from Feb 19.

Sources told Dawn that after Waqar had expressed his dismay in a press statement over PCB’s decision of not announcing the captain along with the World Cup squad on Jan 18, the PCB, considering the statement untimely, sent an explanation notice to the coach over the statement.

The PCB had faced criticism from several quarters for not announcing the captain for the World Cup.

The sources further said that though Afridi was PCB’s first choice to lead in the World Cup, it was also considering Misbah-ul-Haq, who was delivering well as Test captain.

The upcoming six One-day International series against New Zealand, starting from Saturday, would also be a test for Afridi to prove his potential as captain and all-rounder.

The PCB has also appointed Misbah as his deputy for the series.

But Waqar, as the sources said, was more comfortable with Afridi and did not want to make any change at the time when the ICC mega event was less than a month away.

In 2010, Afridi’s performance as captain remained below par as he led the team in nine series of One-day and Twenty20 Internationals, losing seven and winning only two T20 series.

Misbah, on the other hand, led Pakistan in two Test series, each against South Africa, world No. 2 Test team, and New Zealand. While both the Tests against the Proteas ended in draw, Pakistan won the series 1-0 against the Black Caps, their first after almost four years.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt is also in New Zealand to watch the matches and it is likely the captain for the World Cup would be announced after the fourth ODI, the sources said.

The chairman will also meet Waqar to ask him why he issued the press statement on such an important issue.

The sources said the coach and all other members of the team management knew that it was the prerogative of the Board to decide the captain.

The sources said the PCB also believed that Waqar indirectly showed his support for Afridi by expressing his astonishment for not announcing the captain.

They further said the delay in appointing the captain for the World Cup was only a part of the strategy to warn Afridi to give his best and to lead from the front to retain the post. But Waqar might not have been taken into confidence in this regard, the sources concluded.